1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to covers for covering the top of compressed, self-supporting collections of fibrous material such as cotton modules.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Cotton is machined harvested using stripper harvesters having rollers or mechanical fingers that remove the entire cotton bole from the plant, or using spindle pickers that pull seed cotton from open cotton bolls, using revolving barbed spindles that entwine the cotton fiber and release it once separated from the boll. After being harvested, seed cotton is removed from the harvester and either stored or loaded into trailers for transport to a cotton gin for further processing.
Cotton module builders as disclosed in Wilkes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,003, issued Jul. 31, 1973, and Orlando et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,047, issued Mar. 2, 1976, allow seed cotton to be formed into large, self-supporting seed cotton modules for storage directly in the cotton fields. Such cotton module builders typically include a rectangular body with a module forming chamber that is open at the top and bottom and provided with a movable rear gate, and retractable wheels so that it can be pulled onto a cotton field to allow harvested seed cotton to be dumped directly from a harvester into the open body of the module builder. The module builder includes a carriage mounted on top of the body for movement between the opposite ends of the body. The carriage has vertically reciprocable tamper so that the seed cotton dumped into the body can be continuously compressed into a firm, self-supporting module within the confines of the open body. Thus, the seed cotton is compressed in the forming chamber and will maintain the configuration and shape of the forming chamber after the compression is released and the cotton module builder moved away. While the shape and size of such cotton modules may vary, they typically have a substantially rectangular base about 32 feet (9.7 meters) long and 7 feet (2.1 meters) wide, with a height of about 7.5 feet (2.25 meters) and normally weigh more than 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). The sides and ends of most cotton modules slope slightly inwardly to give cotton modules a slight trapezoid shape. When the cotton module is completed, the rear gate of the cotton builder is opened and the wheels of the cotton builder are lowered to allow the cotton builder to be pulled forwardly to a new location, leaving a tightly compacted, self-supporting seed cotton module on the field for temporary field storage. Being self-supporting, such seed cotton modules do not require any outside aid in the form of belts, straps, etc., to maintain proper shape and form.
Because a self-supporting cotton module may be left in the field for many weeks before it is picked up and transported to a cotton gin, it is usually desirable to cover the cotton module with waterproof or water-resistant fabric or the like to at least partially protect the cotton module from the wind and rain, etc. Flat, waterproof tarpaulins have been used in the past to cover and protect cotton modules. Such tarpaulins are typically secured to the cotton modules with spikes, ropes, weights, or the like. Kandarian, U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,385, issued Sep. 3, 1985, discloses a protective cover for a cotton module comprising a water repellent cap portion adapted to fit about the top of the module, an air permeable skirt portion connected to and depending from the cap portion and adapted to encircle the midportion of the module; and a single belt fastened about the perimeter of the skirt portion for securing the cover about the module without intrusion into the module surface, the belt having D-rings on one end and a tongue on the other end to allow the belt to be cinched about the module. Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,363, issued Sep. 26, 1989, discloses a combination cotton module cover and catenary hold down comprising a horizontal waterproof top sheet for covering the top of the cotton module; flexible side wall sheets secured to the top sheet to partially overlay the side walls of the module, the side wall sheets having a generally horizontal bottom edge; at least three loops secured to the bottom edge of each side wall and extending downwardly from the bottom edge of each side wall with at least one loop located near the center of each side wall being shorter than the other loops; and a cord passing through the loops and about the cotton module to secure the cover to the module, the cord coacting with the loops to form a catenary curve along the side walls of the cotton module.
From the fields, seed cotton is eventually moved to cotton gins for separation of lint and seed. At the cotton gin, the seed cotton first goes through cleaning equipment to remove trash and other foreign matter, and is then conveyed to gin stands where revolving circular saws pull the lint through closely spaced ribs that prevent the seed from passing through. The cotton lint is removed from the saw teeth by air blasts or rotating brushes, and then compressed between the platens of a cotton press into a cotton bale weighing approximately 500 pounds (227 kilograms). Since such cotton bales are not self-supporting, a plurality of cotton bale ties in the form of metal bands are tightly wrapped around the compressed cotton bales while the cotton bales remain compressed between the platens of the cotton press. The platens typically have grooves in the faces thereof for receiving the cotton bale ties before the cotton lint is placed therebetween. See Wright, U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,138, issued Jan. 31, 1978. After the cotton bale ties are secured, the platens are opened and the tied cotton bales removed for transport to a textile mill or the like. Covers may be applied to the cotton bales to keep the cotton bales clean. The covers may consist of bag-like structure for placing over tied cotton bales, or may consist merely of sheets of cloth or the like placed over the face of the platens before the cotton lint is placed therebetween so that the sheets will be positioned between the cotton bale ties and opposite faces of the cotton bale, etc.
Nothing in the above prior art discloses or suggests the present invention. For example, nothing in the above prior art discloses or suggests the combination of a compressed self-supporting module of fibrous material and a cover comprising a cap with a top member covering the top of the module, a first side wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a part of the upper portion of the first side wall of the module, a second side wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a part of the upper portion of the second side wall of the module, a first end wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a part of the upper portion of the first end wall of the module, and a second end wall member attached to the top member and depending downwardly from the top member and covering at least a part of the upper portion of the second end wall of the module; first strap means secured to the cap at a point slightly below the top member of the cap and extending completely around the module lengthwise and parallel to the top of the module; and a second strap means secured to the cap at a point below the first strap means and extending completely around the module lengthwise and parallel to the top of the module.